Finally, after 18 months of not being able to read it, we come to the bestselling indie cyberpunk LEGENDARY goody of a book that is Behind Blue Eyes by Anna Mocikat, the Cyborg Queen.
Although we know Anna Mocikat and have interviewed her many times on our E-mags, there was still in me, that natural scepticism: “is Behind Blue Eyes, as good as people say, or it’s just all hype?” Well, we are about to find out. To the review! (tananananana)
First impressions: The fonts are super cool, and the fact that it’s noir makes it more interesting, like, it’s not every day that you read a noir cyberpunk novel, so yeah, bonus points. A strong first chapter title, first sentences and the layout is set, as we have cyborgs with neon blue eyes receiving orders from Metatron, their leader, that is smug and devilish, arrogant even, to the point of making our blood start simmering.
One thing is for sure, Anna does not leave space for questions when it comes to how these cyborgs work, and no room for questioning the “tech” details of things as we read. All information is laid out, as if she was reading our questions as they come, and everything is told in a way that is as precise as the cyborgs themselves. Nice…
You can feel it, the hint in the beginning that these cyborgs are taught that they are the good ones, although they are called, or known as “blue death”, and one would wonder why. This book keeps getting more interesting by the paragraph! So many questions in so little time… NICE!
One thing that you can feel is the arrogance fuelled by power, pride, and the knowledge of being almost unstoppable from the cyborgs. It makes you dislike them right away, making you question: what is this Metatron guy all about? What does he want? The mystery surrounding him is too great, and his plans are kept in the dark, even when he talks about them. You can see that he is a master planner and that he is in control of a lot of things in his influence while he is looking for total control and yet, Anna makes you feel like you know nothing about his true intentions. He is so twisted, cold and yet, at times, caring about things and the vision of the world that you, as a reader, can’t decide if you outright hate him, or try to understand him first before judging him. Maybe he is on to something, maybe he is right, maybe we are just misunderstanding him, but still… Wow, that takes skill. Impressive.
Villains are very common, essential, but, what distinguishes them, and makes them unique is their level of intensity , their wickedness and their motives. We have, read and got to know many villains, but Metatron, in terms of cruelty is on a level of his own, and he doesn’t even try.
I love how Anna stressed the apathy of the society and the people of Olympias, perpetually in the rat race that was so competitive, that they didn’t even have time, nor the will, to care for anything other than themselves, and the fact that they were never happy, but contempt about their situation and couldn’t take enough of the instant pleasures through drugs and sex that were given by the corporations, or the government. It makes you stop and think on why she said that and how she managed to do it without disrupting the story, at all.
Anna’s idea and message on how the cyborg corps works and how they are treated by their superiors was genius, and american readers should pay attention to that particular part of the plot. It will open your eyes, and maybe, maybe send shivers down your spine, but I won’t spoil that part for you. 🙂
You will be impressed on how much Anna makes you hate these cyborgs. Personally, while I was reading, even knowing that they were MCs, I wanted them dead. All of them. Dead. Yeap, that much. I have never read a book like this, were I want the main characters dead in the first 20-30 pages and just be over with the book, because they are THAT hideous. Not that they are hateful, no, they are just cold and arrogant, so , yeah, “off with their heads” I say, hhahahhaha.
After you read a little and join the team “death to cyborgs”, you will notice that Anna prepared a present for us, lol, by putting them into humane dilemmas and trauma even though they were trained to do what they do, and it’s both satisfying to read, but also makes you have compassion for them, and this is one of the things that makes this book be classified as noir, and you know what? It absolutely fits!
And YES! Anna is one of the authors that isn’t politically correct! YEEEEEESSSSS!!!! So much win!!!! Hahahahahah. Oh my god, thank you! I would be pissed if I read the term “make love” or even “have sex” after all the atrocious events she narrated. Thank fuck! Hahhahahhahahahha. You will get it once you start reading it, lol.
As I read this glorious piece of indie literature, I couldn’t help but to ask myself: Is this the cyberpunk version of 1984? Is this our generation’s Orwell? Because heck, damn, it sure feels like it when you stop to feel the message behind Anna Mocikat’s words that are loaded with meaning and questioning that you as a reader cannot turn away from. BEAUTIFUL!!! HA! People need to read this. Oh yeah!!!!
Side note: Men want to pay attention to Nephelim, to realize how cold women can be, and how they think. Just a tip.
There is a selfish, scornish, snobbish, arrogant cloud upon the characters, and you get to see that that is with most, if not all of the characters of Olympias, so we have to be used to it. Well, there is more office politics and envy inside the Angels HQ and between the crew of angels than outside, it seems, and you know what? It fits. Yeah, when you stop to think about it, it’s a clever move and motive by Anna! You see, this is the standard mentality of the country, so it’s to expect from everybody, right? It may sound silly, but once you get to the middle of the book you will get that “ohhhh, I get it!” sensation.
There is something about our main character and the mountains, for some reason, and the more they are mentioned the more we get curious to find out, and when we find out, it opens a whole new world of possibilities and explains a lot on the plot. Warning: It will shock you, so hang on and hold your heart.
There are so many dilemmas and puzzles in this book that you can easily lose yourself if you don’t pay attention, and the author takes that to the advantage of certain characters. Here’s an example: Imagine being an emotionless, or having to be an emotionless cyborg, and start to have doubts that you cannot share with your other cyborg partners, because, well, they will kill you without a second thought and take your position gladly because maybe, maybe, that’s what they have been thinking all along and you can’t know, or ask, because you are being monitored through your own eyes and your partners’ eyes, and every other moving and unmoving thing in the city. How would that feel like? What would you do?
And to put the frosting on the “what-should-I-do cake” you have the underlying fact that Metatron doesn’t like underperformance, doubts or deviation, and likes to kill anyone that starts to question him or himself. Lovely for the cyborgs, isn’t it?
I love that Anna took time to actually research Indian culture and deities, and use references that were not only simple to understand, but relatable to the characters in question but also accurate in nature regarding the deities’ functions. Amazing! You don’t get that from western authors regularly. NICE!
We have Monthy Python humour in here, hhahahahahah, niiiiice. Hahahhhah humour is one the things that Anna has got, for sure. HAhahahha. There is one character, Finwick that, Anna decided to make the joker of the book, not by scorning him, but by making him… nerdily twisted and an unintentional masochist? Hahahhahah, here’s a snippet of what I’m talking about:
“Five minutes later, Finwick was convinced that not only was he a masochist but indeed had a deeply rooted death wish. Something must have gone terribly wrong in his childhood. But it did not matter now, because his life was going to end. He was so going to die.”
Behind Blue Eyes will make you question the ability and the choice to care for other people over oneself. Seriously think about it and let one’s decisions brew on the long run to see how human we still are or for how long we are still human after certain choices. The other thing that this book makes you think about is the consequence of creating monsters you won’t be able to control.
Have you ever read a book and saw a scene ending in a way that made you say: “oh fuck, this won’t end well”? Yeah? Then, be prepared for those, because in the moment you least expect it, shit will hit the fan for our main character that is starting to take steps in this cyborg journey about learning how to be human, and… knowing the risks of freedom.
Behind Blue Eyes is mind-bending, and in many ways we as readers get astonished on how dark Anna makes this book, (ok, we get it, it’s noir, but still…) both in plot and philosophically. How can the person that gave you the curse of being hated, be the same that is your guardian devil? And what plans and manipulations is this devil/angel/cyborg hiding in his metal sleeves? There is still a lot for us to find out in this awesome series, so get your book and buckle up for this adventure. Amazing read, well done by Anna Mocikat.
Pros:
- Excellent noir feeling on the whole story, the scenery and the characters themselves
- Twisted and unpredictable plot from beginning to end
- Complex characters and very well constructed side-characters
- The backstories makes us want to read more and let us know that there is still a lot for us to find out
- Excellent villain!
- You feel everything and the events force you to think
- Fight scenes were awesome
Cons:
- None that I can justifiably say, for they are personal preferences
Scribble's Worth 